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I drove the car a little over 60 miles yesterday, and took it to the body shop today and started stripping it down. There is ZERO rust on this car, it even looks great under the ground effects. Should be a pretty quick project.
I had to throw the taillights back in it to drive it a couple blocks home, lol
I was working on the side body molding after work tonight, and thought I'd share how the factory moldings can be removed, and reapplied. I should have taken pics when I removed them from the car, but a simple explanation will do. I will describe the process to their current state under each photo....
I use a heat gun, and this blade tool to remove the moldings. This tool will cut right through the 2 sided tape that holds the moldings on. It takes around 10 minutes or so to remove the moldings. I use a Snap On Crud Thug with an eraser wheel to remove the left over 2 sided tape from the sides of the car, and from the back of the moldings. This tool is over $500, and the replacement eraser wheels are $50, but for this job it's worth every penny This is what the back sides of the moldings look like after the wheel takes off the remaining 2 sided tape This is an extremely delicate process, and it's extremely important to run the wheel parallel with the molding, and stay away from the very edge. This tool will absolutely DESTROY the moldings if you let it. If you get into the edge, it will burn into it and create a wobbly edge. That would be extremely noticeable when it's reinstalled. This process takes me around 45 min per side I put a piece of paper under it so you can see the edge is not distorted at all. All the 2 sided tape removed This is what the Snap-On Crud Thug looks like. It's expensive, and it takes a big air compressor to run it, but it's a MUST HAVE tool for doing this. The little eraser wheels that you put in a drill work....well, sort of. This process would take hours with one of those, and with this tool takes minutes
From here, once the moldings are painted, I will use an adhesion promoter, apply new 2 sided foam tape, and reapply. There is a trick to reapplying them, and keeping them perfectly straight. (These things bend all over the place when they are off the car. They're SUPER flimsy) I will explain when I get that far
Got the rest of the ground effects painted tonight. Everything was taken all the way down to the bare gel coat. Well....except behind where the rocker emblems go....didn't really care about that spot that gets covered up
New rocker emblems ready to go. These are the Phoenix Graphics inserts. If anyone uses these, you MUST use your original black mounting plates. Remove the old emblems carefully, and then install the new emblem. What I found to do, is before you install the new decal, is to put down a strip of 3/4" two sided molding tape first. This allows the decal to sit flush with the edge of the black mounting plate. It looks way more original this way. If you don't, the decal sits too far in and looks really, REALLY weird. I did that on my 88 convertible I sold, and it drove me absolutely nuts. These are a puffy style decal, EXACTLY like the OEM rear bumper emblem so they are thinner than the hard, plastic inserts that are in the original emblems. Mounted this way, though, it's extremely hard to tell them from OEM
I got the body side moldings, rear spoiler, and mirrors all stripped and primed yesterday. I gutted the mirrors, so it's just the bare shells. There's not really a good way to paint mirrors on these cars any other way. I'm hoping to get these parts painted tonight after work.
I got the mirrors put back together today, and started applying new double sided molding tape on the body side moldings. I snapped a few pics to show how I do that. I don't have the big door pieces done yet, but they're done exactly the same as the small pieces. Here's a run down...
I put a light coat of this adhesion promoter on the back sides of the moldings....and give it about 5 min to dry I use this 3M two sided molding tape. 7/8" wide It comes in a big roll... Here it is applied. It takes a little trimming with a razor blade on the one end. The big door pieces don't need any special trimming. When they're ready to be installed, you just peel off the red protective layer to expose the sticky side And it's ready to be installed when the time comes. I will also use the adhesion promoter on the car when i reinstall them.
Well I got the car moved back up to the body shop today. Our glass guy came this morning and cut the windshield out. It will get a new windshield installed when the car is painted. I have to get the doors removed, next.
My new weather stripping kit has been here a few weeks. New stainless steel t-top bar, t-top drip edge seals, headliner, sunvisors, and sail panel covers are all here, too. I'm getting SOOOOO anxious.
Oh, and I've been informed by my oldest daughter that I can NOT sell this car, lol. She is absolutely in love with the blue. My youngest daughter drives the Trans Am around a LOT, so now my oldest daughter thinks she is claiming this one, lol.
Oh, and I've been informed by my oldest daughter that I can NOT sell this car, lol. She is absolutely in love with the blue. My youngest daughter drives the Trans Am around a LOT, so now my oldest daughter thinks she is claiming this one, lol.
Guess you'd better start planning your next project so you'll have one too!
Made some progress on the car today. Got the passenger side door off, weather stripping, etc. Headliner out, and the t-top bar is just held in with the glue, so it's ready to be pulled out, too
The windshield is cut out...it's just sitting there for now to plug the giant hole lol
Check out the condition of the doors, under where the ground effects were mounted. SUPER CLEAN. Not even a hint of rust, anywhere on this thing. What a SHAME that they painted the car black....and with such a crap job.....
Made some progress on the car today. Got the passenger side door off, weather stripping, etc. Headliner out, and the t-top bar is just held in with the glue, so it's ready to be pulled out, too
The windshield is cut out...it's just sitting there for now to plug the giant hole lol
I'm glad this car ended up in your hands Darin. Great one to save!
Well I spent my Sunday at the body shop. The driver's door is off, and the rear quarters, roof, windshield surround, and deck lid are all down to bare metal. And, I figured out why the car was even painted in the first place. The top surfaces were sun baked. The great news is that there was only body filler in one small ding on the passenger side right above the seam where the roof and sail panel meet. And again, no rust anywhere. I didn't know what to expect with this car going down to metal, but what a relief!! I should have no problem getting the shell painted this week. I'm gonna pull the hatch off tomorrow after work and get the jambs all prepped.
Also, there's a thread in the BODY section about an aftermarket, stainless steel t-top bar that's now available for $140. I bought one, and they're AWESOME. I test fit it today, and I had to tweak the ends of the top bar just a tiny bit, and it fits like a glove. All the mounting holes line up, etc. WELL WORTH THE MONEY!!!!
The doors are straightened and in primer. The hatch panel is also in primer. The body is ready for primer. I'm getting REALLY close to having everything painted, now. And now I'm getting anxious!
I gave the quarters a cut and buff... I sand up to 5000 grit before buffing. I didn't sand it totally flat...I don't want it to look OVER done. I aim for as close to factory peel as possible, but it is probably less orange peel than factory. Now if it was a $200,000+ dollar street rod, it would be a different story lol.
Buffed the driver's door tonight, and the fuel door and got the fuel door installed. I had to shim it a little to move it out...for some reason it wanted to rub on the quarter panel just a little tiny bit when it opened, so I got that straightened out. Our bodyman at our shop never ceases to amaze me. The doors are absolutely laser straight. I'm gonna try to get the hatch buffed and installed tomorrow night, along with the rear bumper, taillights, rear quarter ground effects, etc. Maybe at least 1 door....just have to see how late it gets. I am soooo excited to get this heap back together
Oh, and also got the t-top edges refinished, as well as the lock cylinders
I realized tonight that they messed up the weather stripping kit. Everything is right other than the door seals. They sent me ones for a 75-79 Chrysler B Body.
I realized tonight that they messed up the weather stripping kit. Everything is right other than the door seals. They sent me ones for a 75-79 Chrysler B Body.
They'd fit my Cordoba, but not much help with your Camaro.
They'd fit my Cordoba, but not much help with your Camaro.
I always loved the 1975-77 Cordoba's and wanted one. I bought an '83 which was close, but not as nice. Trouble was, very weak parts availability. (Body, lights, fuel sender, etc). Plus in cali, we had to live with the "Lean Burn" System.
I gained big time on the car today! Ok, so some of you guys wanted an explanation on how I reinstall the super flimsy body side moldings. I explained earlier in the thread how to remove them, clean off the old adhesive, and reinstall new adhesive. Here's how I put them on.
First off, I install the end pieces. I eyeball them. They are short, and the one end is pointed, so it makes this super easy. I keep them about a 1/4" away from the fender edge, and the rear quarter edge. I center them right on the body line.....so the body line runs right in the center of the tip, and right in the middle of the thick end. Super easy.
Now for the door pieces that are long and flimsy. Before I do anything, I pull a 3/4" line of tape from the bottom edge of the front fender piece, to the bottom edge of the rear quarter piece. I do the same exact thing on the top edges....just pull a tape line connecting them along the top edge. That leaves a SUPER STRAIGHT guide, and all you have to do is install the door moldings right in between the tape lines. I also only pull the red backing tape off of the moldings around a foot at a time, and leave the pulled part of backing hanging under the molding so I can grab it again to pull off more as I go. Again, there's around a 1/4" gap at each door edge. I take it nice and slow, and install the molding right along my tape lines. I actually find it easier to just follow the top tape line. I mainly run 2 tape lines, just to double check that the line is straight the entire way. So after I install the molding up to where I had the red backing pulled off the 2 sided tape, I just pull off another foot of it, and keep going, and repeat again until I'm at the end. It works SUPER AWESOME and guarantees a straight install. It takes me maybe 5-10 minutes per side to install them. Here's a couple pics....
So today I got the other door on, both fenders, ground effects on both sides, mirrors on both sides, antenna changed, t-top bar painted and installed, and the outer door window sweeps.
They'd fit my Cordoba, but not much help with your Camaro.
